


Reason Why

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: Weekend Writing Marathon Flash Fiction [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: But Probably Could Be If You Wanted Hard Enough, Gen, Impending Character Death Is a Major Plot Point, Nobody Actually Dies, Not Necessarily Wincest, Stanford Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 13:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9183517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Sam finds a CD with a message from Dean.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Weekend Writing Marathon's Flash Fiction Tuesday.
> 
> Prompt: A CD sits on your desk with a post-it on it that says “Listen”. You know what it is but not how it got there.
> 
> I only sort of stuck to the prompt though.

Sam picked up the CD. There was a post-it note with one word, in the clear block letters of his brother’s handwriting – “Listen.” Of course, Dean was supposed to be anywhere but Palo Alto. Their dad caught him sneaking out to visit Sam at school and gave Dean the same ultimatum he’d given Sam. Dean chose to stay with John.

When he’d called Sam to tell him, Sam threw a fit. He’d given Dean an ultimatum of his own – if he didn’t come soon, don’t come at all. Dean hadn’t come. That was six months ago.

Sam put the CD in his laptop. As he’d thought, it was a mix of songs that he and Dean had both liked – Bon Jovi, “Hey Jude”, Bob Seger, things like that. At the end, though, there was an unlabeled track. He hesitated for a moment, but curiosity won out. 

“Hey Sammy. Listen. Please. I couldn’t leave Dad. I didn’t tell you, but he had some stuff going on that frankly scared the hell out of me. Erratic behavior – yeah, I know, erratic even for him. Coughing blood. Struggling to catch his breath after a long run. Not eating, worse than you ever were. He tried to hide it from me, but he couldn’t. You won’t pick up the phone, but I’m hoping you’ll listen to this. If you don’t, god, Sammy, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. A couple days ago I checked Dad into a hospital when I couldn’t get him to wake up. Still waiting on lab results to be sure, but the doc’s pretty sure it’s lung cancer and too late to treat. Dad’s dying, Sammy. Not on a hunt, not some unexpected violent death where you can’t get here to say goodbye. I’m in Palo Alto. You have my phone number. Please, Sammy, let me take you to say goodbye.” There was a sigh. “Yeah. You probably shut this off the second you heard my voice. I know. But if you’re still listening – this is why I chose Dad. I know you need me too, but Dad was sick. Dying. What kind of man abandons his dying father?”

Sam shut the CD off and grabbed his phone. “Dean?”

“Sam?”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me earlier? I’d have been there for Dad if I’d known!” Sam put the phone on speaker and sat back down at his computer to email his professors.

“Exactly.” Dean sighed. “School’s important to you. You and Dad never could get along. These last few months, I couldn’t get along with the guy. If I couldn’t, you couldn’t. Couldn’t ask you to leave school until it was the end. Dad’s awake, the two of you can talk if we get there soon, but at most you’re gonna miss a couple weeks. Likely closer to one.”

Sam closed his eyes, biting back most of what he wanted to say. “Dean.”

“You chose school over hunting. Over family.”

“Over hunting, yes. Dad’s the one who made me choose between school and family.”

He could practically hear Dean shrugging. “Doesn’t change that you made that choice, though.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you to stay away. You never wanted any of this. I was… I was acting just like Dad. My way or the highway. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me?”

“Yeah, yeah. When can you be ready to go?”

“When can you get here?” Sam sent the email to his professors and started packing a duffle bag. Even after two years of being away from the hunting life, living out of the Impala, he could fit almost everything he owned into one bag.

“Depending on traffic and security, fifteen minutes?”

“I’ll be ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments welcomed!


End file.
